Reminder to everyone that we need to be masking, in a well-fitting respirator, as much as possible. I wear a respirator religiously. I have never gotten covid that I know of (if I have, it’s been asymptomatic).
The covid vaccine efficacy wanes after 6 months and it’s hard to get a 6 month booster. I keep getting denied a booster when I try to get it because apparently having conditions the CDC says are high risk is not enough to get some arrogant pharmacist phuckhead to administer a dose. Even then, by 6 months covid has mutated a lot anyway. We see these 2x/year apikes in wastewater dsta, or we did when there was better dsta collection, becauae of the mutation rate. So I’ve been living 6 months out of every year operating under the assumption that I’m not properly vaccinated, because i can’t get that booster.
But even then, since all major governments braced perpetual spread of covid, it gets the chancs mutate so quickly that we should be getting updated vaccines at least 2x/year.
All of this is to say: the ugly truth is that while vsccines are important, theyre the lsst line of defense and we have never been given good ones on a proper schedule (which would be 2-3 updated covid vaccines /year for everyone). Wear a respirator. Wear a respirator that properly seals on your face. Respirators have been the most effective intervention and will continue to be, vaccines or no. This was always the case, but if vaccines are banned it will be even more important to wear a respirator
I mask all the time but with things like this I worry it’s only a short matter of time before masking in public is banned as well.
Trump will say anyone masking in public is antifa and start leaning on states and cities to criminalize it. Stores and businesses will mostly happily go along as they don’t give a fuck about your safety and worry about it enabling ANY level of shoplifting or crime and it also only would impact a tiny fraction of their customers at this point. Public institutions will fold and treat you like a criminal if you’re wearing a mask, the cops will gleefully start targeting anyone wearing a mask in public for inspection, shake-down and harassment.
I have worried about that too, but it got to the point where I realized I could do nothing about it. If they want to ban masks, they’ll ban masks, and if they want to use that to bring the hammer down on me, they will. I, in turn, will live by this mantra: “They can pry my mask off with their cold dead hands.” But until/unless they dig their own graves by trying to forcibly infect me with covid, I don’t worry about what they might do. Maybe they’ll do it. Maybe they won’t.
The 3M Aura is a great place to start, since it’s a high quality N95 respirator that fits a wide range of people. I’ve also heard good things about the 3M VFlex, especially for people with big faces and/or people who are sensitive to breathing resistance (since the VFlex has one of the lowest pressure drops out of any N95). They also happen to be one of the cheapest N95s out there, which I think is related to the duckbill construction (versus the trifold of the Aura) I personally had trouble getting a good seal in a standard size VFlex (there’s also a small), but fit is very individual, and unfortunately there isn’t yet a comprehensive database that can help you find a mask based on your face shape.
If you can find a mask bloc local to you, you may be able to get samples of individual masks to try them so you don’t have to buy a whole box just to try one out. Some retailers will also sell individual masks, with Wellbefore coming to mind; in addition to 3M Auras they’ve got their own great KN95s with both earloop and head strap configurations, and they even have a sample pack. Head straps tend to give a better fit (and are IMO much more comfortable, especially when wearing for long periods), but in situations where you can’t wear head straps (e.g. getting a haircut) it’s nice to have an earloop option.
Aaron Collins (a.k.a. The Mask Nerd) did a great overview of a bunch of different masks which covers fit and quantitative breathability, including all three of the masks I mentioned above.
Finally, if you’re looking to take the plunge and go with a reusable option, Lola Germs has a guide on elastomerics[1] (although with elastomerics in particular, be careful of knockoffs!).
From what I know you can use them 5-7 times each (40 hours total is a number I recall), provided you rotate between 4 masks to give them time to dry out between uses. The straps are typically the first thing to go in my experience.
If they get wet or dirty though they’re done and have to be tossed immediately.
It’s hard to give a specific number, since it’ll depend heavily on the type of mask, the environment(s) it’s used in, and what someone is willing to risk. It basically comes down to how contaminated the mask gets (degrading filtration performance) and how the fit deteriorates over time due to failure of various materials (stiffness of nose wire, rebound/attachment of foam seal, elasticity of straps). So when reusing, keep these factors in mind and monitor the condition of the mask carefully, replacing when necessary. Speaking from experience, it’s pretty obvious when the straps on the Aura start to wear out and can no longer provide enough tension to get a good seal. If you really push the envelope, you can even end up snapping a strap, although from what I’ve seen you’d have to use them well past the point where the straps are obviously loose. I haven’t tried it myself, but some people say the somewhat pricier 9210 (fabric straps) is better than the standard 9205 (rubber-like straps) in this regard.
So, fit varies a lot by person based on face shape and size, and fit is the most important thing. Fluid flow (air is a fluid) takes the path of least resistance, so if there’s a leak, air will be coming in through the leak. 3M Auras don’t fit me well at all, they’re too big for my face. But I have liked the Laianzhi KN100 from PPEO.com ( I really should see if / how much the tariffs have impacted cost since I’m running low but I’m almost afraid to look) for disposable masks. I reuse them on a rotating basis unless they get filthy so I can make one stretch for a good long time. I think there’s also a KN95 version of this that is good and I might even switch to trying that style out with my next order because KN100 is technically overkill, and the cost of going with that overkill is that the higher breathing resistance seems to lead to sinus congestion, so with extended wear I have to periodically pop outside to take the mask down and blow my nose.
I’ve also liked the reusable washable elastomeric GVS Ellipse with P100 filters because it’s so much cheaper than disposables, and I get a very good seal with it based on qualitative testing. There’s a version with an exhalation valve which I don’t have, but I might get if I end up having to do long shifts where I can’t go outside to take the mask off and drain the water that builds up. This one also has a high breathing resistance.
I had wanted to like the 3M VFlex as it has a lower breathing resistance, but it was so big I couldn’t get it to fit well unless I applied mask tape to it. I decided to try it out as an outside mask in crowded spaces since it was light enough to not get so hot. But then when I’d walk away to take it down and drink some water, between the tension from the mask tape and the design of the mask, it would rip along a seam. After 2 or 3 instances of this I gave up and donated mine to a local mask bloc because they weren’t working for my use case.
AernaLingus’ advice is good and I’ll add just one more thing: testing proper fit. If you have a good seal and the mask is at all flexible, breathing in should suck the mask into your face while breathing out should push the mask away but not so much that it loses seal. Breathing in and out quickly makes this more obvious. If I do this with a mask that is not fit well there is no sucking in / resistance because air is coming in through the leaks. This is how I settle on masks for myself aside from checking for NIOSH / equivalent ratings.
This is horrible.
Reminder to everyone that we need to be masking, in a well-fitting respirator, as much as possible. I wear a respirator religiously. I have never gotten covid that I know of (if I have, it’s been asymptomatic).
The covid vaccine efficacy wanes after 6 months and it’s hard to get a 6 month booster. I keep getting denied a booster when I try to get it because apparently having conditions the CDC says are high risk is not enough to get some arrogant pharmacist phuckhead to administer a dose. Even then, by 6 months covid has mutated a lot anyway. We see these 2x/year apikes in wastewater dsta, or we did when there was better dsta collection, becauae of the mutation rate. So I’ve been living 6 months out of every year operating under the assumption that I’m not properly vaccinated, because i can’t get that booster.
But even then, since all major governments braced perpetual spread of covid, it gets the chancs mutate so quickly that we should be getting updated vaccines at least 2x/year.
All of this is to say: the ugly truth is that while vsccines are important, theyre the lsst line of defense and we have never been given good ones on a proper schedule (which would be 2-3 updated covid vaccines /year for everyone). Wear a respirator. Wear a respirator that properly seals on your face. Respirators have been the most effective intervention and will continue to be, vaccines or no. This was always the case, but if vaccines are banned it will be even more important to wear a respirator
I mask all the time but with things like this I worry it’s only a short matter of time before masking in public is banned as well.
Trump will say anyone masking in public is antifa and start leaning on states and cities to criminalize it. Stores and businesses will mostly happily go along as they don’t give a fuck about your safety and worry about it enabling ANY level of shoplifting or crime and it also only would impact a tiny fraction of their customers at this point. Public institutions will fold and treat you like a criminal if you’re wearing a mask, the cops will gleefully start targeting anyone wearing a mask in public for inspection, shake-down and harassment.
I have worried about that too, but it got to the point where I realized I could do nothing about it. If they want to ban masks, they’ll ban masks, and if they want to use that to bring the hammer down on me, they will. I, in turn, will live by this mantra: “They can pry my mask off with their cold dead hands.” But until/unless they dig their own graves by trying to forcibly infect me with covid, I don’t worry about what they might do. Maybe they’ll do it. Maybe they won’t.
Dems like Kathy hochul suggested that mask ban too.
Which respirators do you like?
The 3M Aura is a great place to start, since it’s a high quality N95 respirator that fits a wide range of people. I’ve also heard good things about the 3M VFlex, especially for people with big faces and/or people who are sensitive to breathing resistance (since the VFlex has one of the lowest pressure drops out of any N95). They also happen to be one of the cheapest N95s out there, which I think is related to the duckbill construction (versus the trifold of the Aura) I personally had trouble getting a good seal in a standard size VFlex (there’s also a small), but fit is very individual, and unfortunately there isn’t yet a comprehensive database that can help you find a mask based on your face shape.
If you can find a mask bloc local to you, you may be able to get samples of individual masks to try them so you don’t have to buy a whole box just to try one out. Some retailers will also sell individual masks, with Wellbefore coming to mind; in addition to 3M Auras they’ve got their own great KN95s with both earloop and head strap configurations, and they even have a sample pack. Head straps tend to give a better fit (and are IMO much more comfortable, especially when wearing for long periods), but in situations where you can’t wear head straps (e.g. getting a haircut) it’s nice to have an earloop option.
Aaron Collins (a.k.a. The Mask Nerd) did a great overview of a bunch of different masks which covers fit and quantitative breathability, including all three of the masks I mentioned above.
Finally, if you’re looking to take the plunge and go with a reusable option, Lola Germs has a guide on elastomerics[1] (although with elastomerics in particular, be careful of knockoffs!).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1urC9zg-xxX5bLHSpyEytGp96Q2AOounUM-DQGRmRzHA ↩︎
How long can one wear the 3M Aura? Is there a good rule of thumb? At $2/pop I’d have to be reusing it for a decent amount of time I would think.
From what I know you can use them 5-7 times each (40 hours total is a number I recall), provided you rotate between 4 masks to give them time to dry out between uses. The straps are typically the first thing to go in my experience.
If they get wet or dirty though they’re done and have to be tossed immediately.
Here’s a reddit post which looks at some study data on this topic:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Masks4All/comments/1hnxfh3/debunking_the_myth_that_n95s_are_super_protective/
It’s hard to give a specific number, since it’ll depend heavily on the type of mask, the environment(s) it’s used in, and what someone is willing to risk. It basically comes down to how contaminated the mask gets (degrading filtration performance) and how the fit deteriorates over time due to failure of various materials (stiffness of nose wire, rebound/attachment of foam seal, elasticity of straps). So when reusing, keep these factors in mind and monitor the condition of the mask carefully, replacing when necessary. Speaking from experience, it’s pretty obvious when the straps on the Aura start to wear out and can no longer provide enough tension to get a good seal. If you really push the envelope, you can even end up snapping a strap, although from what I’ve seen you’d have to use them well past the point where the straps are obviously loose. I haven’t tried it myself, but some people say the somewhat pricier 9210 (fabric straps) is better than the standard 9205 (rubber-like straps) in this regard.
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So, fit varies a lot by person based on face shape and size, and fit is the most important thing. Fluid flow (air is a fluid) takes the path of least resistance, so if there’s a leak, air will be coming in through the leak. 3M Auras don’t fit me well at all, they’re too big for my face. But I have liked the Laianzhi KN100 from PPEO.com ( I really should see if / how much the tariffs have impacted cost since I’m running low but I’m almost afraid to look) for disposable masks. I reuse them on a rotating basis unless they get filthy so I can make one stretch for a good long time. I think there’s also a KN95 version of this that is good and I might even switch to trying that style out with my next order because KN100 is technically overkill, and the cost of going with that overkill is that the higher breathing resistance seems to lead to sinus congestion, so with extended wear I have to periodically pop outside to take the mask down and blow my nose.
I’ve also liked the reusable washable elastomeric GVS Ellipse with P100 filters because it’s so much cheaper than disposables, and I get a very good seal with it based on qualitative testing. There’s a version with an exhalation valve which I don’t have, but I might get if I end up having to do long shifts where I can’t go outside to take the mask off and drain the water that builds up. This one also has a high breathing resistance.
I had wanted to like the 3M VFlex as it has a lower breathing resistance, but it was so big I couldn’t get it to fit well unless I applied mask tape to it. I decided to try it out as an outside mask in crowded spaces since it was light enough to not get so hot. But then when I’d walk away to take it down and drink some water, between the tension from the mask tape and the design of the mask, it would rip along a seam. After 2 or 3 instances of this I gave up and donated mine to a local mask bloc because they weren’t working for my use case.
AernaLingus’ advice is good and I’ll add just one more thing: testing proper fit. If you have a good seal and the mask is at all flexible, breathing in should suck the mask into your face while breathing out should push the mask away but not so much that it loses seal. Breathing in and out quickly makes this more obvious. If I do this with a mask that is not fit well there is no sucking in / resistance because air is coming in through the leaks. This is how I settle on masks for myself aside from checking for NIOSH / equivalent ratings.